Rail turning machine



Y Filed July 23, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR H W S Rv o. F W J, A#

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March 22, 1932. J, W, FORSYTHE l 1,850,542

RAIL TURNING MACHINE Filed July 23, 1930 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 17 -Ffg UJIH-U QU l5' J W FORS Y THE.

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@MMM/fw Patented Mar. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT orifice RAIL TURNINGMACHINE Application led July 23,

rihis invention relates to rail straightening machines and moreparticularly to auxiliary apparatus for turning the rail in thestraightening machine.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a rail turningmachine which shall be of simple and compact mechanical construction andwhich shall be adapted to handle rails in a simple and eiflcient manner.

s The customary practice in straightening rails is to employ a presshaving a vertically movable ram which acts upon the bent portion of therail to take out the bends or kinks, this being termed the straighteningoperation.

The workman manipulates the rail back and forth lengthwise and turns itaxially by means of a hook which is positioned on the edge of the railand which is provided with a handle for pushing the rail lengthwise, andalso to turn it. The straightener sights along the length of the railuntil he sees a bend 0r kink and moves the rail until such bend or kinkis beneath the reciprocating ram. When he brings the rail to restanother workman inserts a gag between the rail and the ram and when theram is reciprocated the rail is bent in the opposite direction to thekink or bend and is thereby straightened at that particular point.

so increased that there are two or more workmen now employed to assistthe straightener in moving the rail during the straightening operation,and the present invention lis designed to reduce the labor necessary forhandling the rails during the straightening operation, and also to speedup the operation so that a large number of rails may be handled in agiven time.

The invention will be more clearly understood in connection with adescription of the accompanying drawings in which like referencecharacters designate like parts and in which Figure 1 is a top plan viewof a rail turning machine embodying the principles of this invention;Figure 2 a front elevational View thereof; Figure 3 a horizontal crosssection taken through the gear housing; Figure 4 a vertical sectionthereof; and Figure 5 The weight and length of rails have been 1930.Serial No. 470,080.

a sectionalk elevational view of the tongy or hook for engaging therail.

In Figure 1 a bed plate 1 is anchored to-a suitable support such as aconcrete base and a reversible motor 2. A plurality of pillow blockbearings 3 and an adjustable spring 4 are mounted on the bed plate. ACountershaft 5 is journalled in the bearing 3 and a housing 6 issupported at one end on the shaft 5 and at its other end it is bothsupported on the spring stop 4 and suspendedby a counterweight 7 towhich it is fastened by a cable 8, the counterweight being conned in avertical guide frame 9. A guide 10 having a slotted opening l1 (Fig. 1)engages the gear housing 6 to maintain it in proper working alinement. V

The tong for engaging the rail comprises a pair of rollers 13 which arejournalled in brackets 14 that are secured to and adapted to rotate witha ring gear 15. The ring gear is journalled in a bronze bearing strip 16as shown in Figure 3, the strip being fastened to the housing 6'. Thering gear 15 is rotated through a plurality of gear wheels 17 and 18,the latter being mounted on the countershaft 5 which in turn is drivenby a gear wheel 19 connected through a chain 20 to a pinion on the shaftof the reversible motor 2.

The operation of the rail turning machine is briefly as follows: Therail to be straightened is pushed between the rollers 13 in line withthe reciprocating ram of the straightening machine and the straightenersights the rail to locate the bend or kink to be straightened. After allof the bends or'kinks have been removed while maintaining the rail inone position, the straightener turns the ring gear by operating thereversible motor 2 through a foot switch control (not shown) and therail is turned a one-fourth or onehalf turn; or at any angle desired,and is straightened all along its length for the new position which ithas assumed.

Due to the movement of the rail between the rollers back and forthunderneath the ram of the straightening machine, the gear housing 6would be subjected to considerable strain if it did not cooperate withthe vertical guide 107 but by means of the guide7 the strainronthecountershait and gear housing isrrelievedfand the rollers may besubjected to severe jolts without damage tothe machine.

By means of the adjustable spring stop 4,

theV gear case 6 and the ring gear carrying the rollers may be adjustedto accommodate it to varying heights of rails thatare to bestraightened, and by employing the counter- Weight 7 in the guide 9, itis quite simple to 10 adjust the frame by advancing the spring stopwhich is operative'in the manner'of a screw jack to raise and lower thegear frame 6.

It is evident from the foregoing descrip tion of this invention thatrail turning `machinesmade in accordance therewith, proj videsimple andefficient means for handling rails to turn them during the straighteningoperations. j

Althoughone embodiment of the invention y (has been herein illustratedand described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatvarious modiications may be made in the details of construction withoutdeparting from the principles herein set forth. n

Iclailn: v

l. In a rail vturning machine'a support, a housing having one endpivotally mounted on said support to permit a vertical swinging movementoffsaid housing, meansfor supv230 porting the other end of said housing,in-

cluding an adjustable spring stop beneath said housing anda lined guidemember havying side flanges between which said housing y is free to movevertically and which are adapted to, receive the side thrust of saidhousing lwhen said housing isforced sidewise by the rail engaging saidhousing or the partsV carried thereby and a rotary rail turning membercarried by saidhousing.

l0 '2. In a rail turning machine a support, a

housing having one end pivotally mounted on said support to permit avertical swinging movement of said housing, means for sup porting theother end of said housing including an adjustable spring stop beneathsaid housing and a iixed guide member having side flanges between whichsaid housing is Jfree to move vertically and which are adapted toreceive the side thrust of said housing, a rotary rail turning membercarried by said housing f and a pair of rollers mounted on said railturning member and adapted to be engaged c by the rail to be turned. pIn testimony whereof, I have hereunto set myhand. c

- JOI-IN W. FORSYTI-IE. j

